Misconstrued Space
by kimper
Summary: Why was he pushing her away? Renji x Rukia.


A/N: Written for the 7snogs community on lj!

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Bleach!

Sitting on his step, Rukia watched a disheveled Renji come walking wearily back home. She'd been waiting for some time now, wanting to check on him. He hadn't been quite right since she'd been adopted by the noble Kuchiki family. Things had been awkward between them, basically nonexistent really. She almost understood why he'd pushed her away, but it still hurt. It still made her heart ache to think that her best friend could turn from her so easily. They'd just been through too much together to let it end like this.

Staring at the ground, he stumbled to his dormitory. When he looked up, aiming for the first step, he stopped short, stunned. She felt her heart crack when she saw him quickly mask his shock under his trademark smirk.

"Oi! Rukia. What the hell are you doin round here so early? Isn't your room at the fancy schmancy Kuchiki mansion now? You must be slummin it," he cracked, frowning and looking back down.

That was all she had been able to expect from him lately, rude comments disguised as sarcasm, hiding their intent to wound behind twisted humor. Sighing, she looked him over. He was obviously just making his way home from the night before. His uniform all rumpled, looking as if he'd slept in it, hair in disarray, eyes still attempting to hold to sleep.

"I was hoping to catch you this morning, Renji. I've been trying to find the right time to talk with you, but you've made that nearly impossible. You've been avoiding me for awhile now, making sure you're never around when I might run into you."

She dropped her gaze to the grass growing through the cracks in the walkway at his feet. Those weeds were a bit like their relationship lately, she mused, trying, fighting, despite all attempts to be rid of it, to break through the wall that was the Kuchiki name.

"There's…there's, something…I've been needing t-to tell you Renji. Something important," she stuttered. Now that she had finally cornered him, it was a lot harder than she'd imagined, forcing herself to say what needed said.

Seeing the distressed look on her face, Renji felt his heart drop to his feet. What the hell was going on? Was there something wrong with her? Looking her over he wondered what could possibly be not right. To him, she was almost always perfect, like a breath of air on a fresh, rain washed spring morning. If something was wrong, it would completely crush him.

Of all the things he could have anticipated happening this morning, finding her on his doorstep certainly wasn't one of them. He hadn't allowed himself to be around her lately, forcing her away for her own good, though he doubted she understood that. She had always been the one to fight against the odds, inspiring him to do the same. She'd never accepted defeat, always believing there was nothing they couldn't do if they set their minds to it. If he told her his reasons, explained to her that she couldn't be seen too often with him now, that he wasn't up to the Kuchiki standards, that he'd only hold her back in the long run, she would have argued with him. She certainly would never had given in and admitted that he was right.

He knew he was right though, and that was what counted. One of them had to be sensible, and it certainly wasn't going to be her.

He could never let her know how he really felt, how his heart felt like it was going to shrivel inside his chest at the thought of never seeing her again, how his soul seemed to fade when he thought about never seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, watching her reach for him again.

Coming back to the present he frowned even harder.

Seeing her looking so dejected, so worn down, meant that something big had to be really wrong. Now he just needed to find out what it was so he could figure out how to fix it. He refused to believe that it was anything he couldn't fix.

She watched as he seemed to fight some inner battle, wondering what it was about. Sensing that it was over, she tried to decide how best to proceed.

"Renji."

Well that was certainly an auspicious beginning, she railed at herself.

"Renji."

Dangit! Why couldn't she spit this out, now that the time was right.

Standing, she reached up to straighten the collar of his uniform, hoping to buy herself some time.

"Rukia, would stop fussin and just spit it the hell out already!"

Closing her eyes, she drew a deep breath. Simple and direct, she decided. That was what Renji liked best.

Opening her lids and focusing on his face, she leaned forward, lightly pressing her lips to his. Wrapping her arms around him, she hugged him tightly.

"I've missed you Renji," she whispered softly in his ear, pulling away to walk home, not looking back.

A/N: Please Read And Review!


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